CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – In front of the second-largest crowd ever at Memorial Gymnasium, the Virginia Volleyball team (20-8, 10-7 ACC) fell in four sets (10-25, 14-25, 25-23, 25-16) to the No. 3 Louisville Cardinals (24-3, 16-1 ACC) on Friday night (Nov. 22).
The attendance of 1,122 is the second-biggest crowd to watch a volleyball match in Memorial Gymnasium, only behind the record of 1,150 set earlier this season against No. 1 Pitt.
For Virginia, Abby Tadder and Kate Dean each had eight kills on the evening to lead UVA. Tadder also tied teammate Brooklyn Borum for the most blocks by Cavalier with four.
Louisville’s Charitie Luper and Anna DeBeer each had a match-high 13 kills while Hannah Sherman led all players with nine total blocks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1: Louisville 25, Virginia 10
Dean started the night with a kill for Virginia as the Cavaliers battled the Cardinals to a 4-4 tie in the early going of the opening set. In the heart of the game, Louisville pulled away with an 8-1 run that made it a 17-9 contest. The visiting Cardinals closed out the first set by scoring the final eight points.
Set 2: Louisville 25, Virginia 14
Tadder and Dean teamed up to give UVA an early 3-2 advantage lead before Louisville grabbed the lead with a 4-0 run that made it a 6-3 game. Following a Tadder kill that made It a 9-6 contest, Louisville collected eight of the next ten points. To close out the second set, Louisville tallied the final four points.
Set 3: Virginia 25, Louisville 23
In a set that the Cavaliers never trailed, UVA jumped out to a 7-3 advantage and fended off multiple comeback attempts from Louisville. Most notably, a 4-0 Cardinal run that made it a 13-12 contest. The two squads played tug-of-war on the scoreboard until a 4-0 Virginia run gave the Cavaliers a 23-18 lead. A Dean kill thwarted one final Louisville push to give the set to UVA.
Set 4: Louisville 25, Virginia 16
In what proved to be the final set of the night, Louisville raced out to an 8-2 lead before a kill from Lauryn Bowie ended the run. The Cavaliers cut into the Cardinal advantage with a Dean kill that brought UVA back to 11-8. Six straight Louisville points in the middle of the set gave the Cardinals enough distance to take the set and the match.
MATCH NOTES
- UVA’s win in the third set was the first set win over a top five team in program history.
- The set was the first set win for UVA over Louisville since 2018.
- With the win, Louisville…